In his seventh successive defeat in parliament, MPs voted to reject his call for three days off next week to hold his Conservative party’s annual conference.
His inflammatory language drew accusations – including from his sister Rachel – of stoking divisions in a country still split over the 2016 referendum vote for Brexit. Tensions reached boiling point on Wednesday night during a combative, three-hour debate in which Johnson condemned the court ruling and accused MPs of trying to undermine Brexit.
Cox’s husband Brendan said the exchanges made him feel “a bit sick” – while Johnson’s own sister Rachel said on Thursday that the remark was “tasteless.” The fact that parliament will not be in recess next week does not stop the Conservative party’s conference going ahead, but could affect the timing of key speeches.